The Grander Treasure
by KatPhish
Summary: Jim's happy ending doesn't last long. A new man's appeared with a map and a mission across the galaxy. Pirates, old friends and a treasure that is better if not bigger than Flints'. Come aboard!
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own this. There I said it, getting on with our little story here…**

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Jim smiled sadly up at the clouds out of the window and turned back to the party. His mother had started dancing again in the arms of one of her taller customers and barely came up to his chest as they cut through the crowd.

Laughing, he looked around for Captain Amelia and Delbert. They had sat back down with their children but someone else had joined them talking rapidly about something. Amelia's stern, authorative frown was in place as she considered the man's words and Delbert had an intense look of concern on his face.

Wondering what could affect the couple like this when they had been so recently dancing and cooing at their four babies, Jim headed over, his own face serious.

Captain Amelia looked up sharply at him but relaxed slightly when she saw who it was. "Wonderful, Mr. Hawkins, you may as well sit down and listen to this as well. Haverd here has quite an interesting story."

The man, blue with tentacle-like hair that was slicked back, looked nervously from the captain's face to Jim's. "Ye see, Mr. Hawkins, it this… There was a group of pirates that raided me crops and they was talkin' 'bout some stash o' treasure they was lookin' fer out in space…. A great loot, from the sounds of it." Haverd paused… "They were braggin' 'bout how this was s'posed te be even more valable than even the mere gold o' Flint's trove."

Jim's interest was immediately peaked. They had managed to rebuild the Benbow and improve upon it, but hadn't had much left over, except to buy a real solar-surfer so he didn't need to make another one out of the limited supplies at the junkyard. To be able to go on another journey across space, it'd be great. But the pirates… he'd had enough of them lately, though he did miss his friend, Silver, already. John Silver was more of a father than Jim's own father ever had been, never mind than he'd almost killed Jim on a few different occasions.

Delbert frowned. "Amelia, I- I can't say that I really approve of this… gallivanting off into space. It's all well and good if there is some kind of map or…." He was broken off by his suddenly irate wife. They started bickering and the children start crying. Morph, obviously distressed, appeared at Jim's shoulder and went to work soothing the babies that were swinging their fists around. His miniature display of firework got everyone at the table's attention and it also brought attention to Haverd's red face.

Jim looked at him suspiciously. "You know something, don't you?" Jim asked Haverd, who took several, gulping deep breaths of air.

"Well, they may have- ah- missed a thing or two when they left. Dropped 'em ye see…" he trailed off, even more nervous than before. Reluctantly, he pulled out a large roll of paper from under him coat. Jim stood to take it from him, but Captain Amelia spotted this and was faster.

Holding up a hand to Delbert, she snatched the paper from Haverd and eyed the man and Jim with an irritated glare. "I would _not_ be waving around such things in public places if I were you. I'm sure that Sarah is a good enough woman not to invite… unsavory people here, but she would not turn down guests to stay at the inn. You have no idea who may be listening."

Delbert shook his head slightly in disbelief. "Always cautious, aren't you, my dear," he took a deep breath. I don't suppose I'll be able to stay here for the voyage, will I?"

Amelia looked at him, shocked. "I would never force you to do such a thing. You're of course welcome to it, you've proved yourself as a helmsman and gunner. B.E.N. will be coming, of course, myself, we'll have to find an _acceptable_ crew…" she went on listing what they'd need. Delbert stiffened at the mention of an "acceptable" crew. He'd chosen a band of renegade pirates for the Treasure Planet expedition and would never live it down with his wife.

Jim had been listening to Captain Amelia's musing carefully. "I'm coming! You'd really set sail without me?"

Amelia's catty eyes turned to him immediately. "You'll be permitted to come of course."

Satisfied, Jim nodded and stood to go and enjoy the rest of the party, and tell B.E.N. about the new development when Amelia's voice cut through and added, "Granted that your mother gives her permission."

He stopped and couldn't even turn around. He would never be able to convince his mother to let him go on another trip as soon as he'd gotten back from the months long one he'd just been on. He nodded back to Amelia and walked on, getting B.E.N.'s attention and telling him not to say another thing or he'd lose his memory chip again.

B.E.N. nodded and went about serving the guests. Jimmy was in a dark mood and couldn't be talked to. He passed by the Captain and doctor's table where they were talking to a rather haggard looking Haverd.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own this. Glad so many people think this'll be good and I'll try keeping up a good pace for it!**

_A week later……._

Jim and B.E.N. crept past Sarah's room. As they made it down the stairs, Jim couldn't help but look back at the darkened Benbow Inn. He'd miss it, and his mom, but it couldn't be helped. He had a spacer's heart. Frowning, he slid the bolt on the door and unlocked it, letting B.E.N. out before he followed.

"James Pleiades Hawkins!" Sarah was sitting at one of the tables, looking at her locket's various pictures of Jim as a child had watched as the two attempted to slip out. She stood now, furious and wondering why these two were going off in the middle of the night.

Frozen to the spot, Jim stared at her. How had he_ not_ seen her?! The locket gave off a steady light when it was open, he should have spotted it! He supposed that she'd closed it as they were coming down the stairs, but that didn't explain why she hadn't spoken before. B.E.N. poked his head around the door and bit his lip, unwilling to break the uncomfortable silence; his electric blue eyes looked back and forth between the mother and son.

"You're just going to go off without even saying good-bye?" Sarah's voice sounded watery and as if she were on the edge of breaking down. She reached for the light switch and Jim could see, with considerable guilt, that she already had been crying.

"Ah, Mom… I'm- we're just," he didn't even know how to go on. How could he explain to her that they were off on another treasure hunt?

"Amelia told me last night. She said you might try something like this, but I was convinced that you would at least come and say good-bye to me before leaving." Sarah took a deep, steadying breath and examined her only son. He was now sixteen years old, having been on the last voyage for months, had his life threatened by pirates and found Flint's trove. The planet that almost no one said could be found, Treasure Planet. "Jim, I just got you back," she whispered. It was her only attempt to keep him here.

Jim nodded. "I know, but I just- I can't just work at the Benbow my whole life, Mom. You have no idea what it's like out there. When you're sail across the galaxy, it's like- like nothing can touch you and the whole thing is peaceful." Struggling to find the words, he gestured hopelessly in the air. "There's nothing like it in the world."

Sarah watched him, her sternest expression fixed onto her face. "What am I going to do for help while you're gone?" she finally relented, with a large sigh.

Jim looked up at her, searching her face, he saw that she was letting him go. "Really?" He could hardly believe it.

Studying her son, she sat down again in one of the chairs, unable to emotionally handle this situation anymore. "I can't keep you from the thing you love, Jim. You had so much trouble connecting to the world before and this seemed to have brought you back. I won't take away the thing that did that. Go, but at least wait until morning."

A grin broke across Jim's face and he scooped his mom into a big hug from her chair and swung her around.

With a cry, B.E.N. ran forward and threw his arms around the pair. "Oh! Yay! Group hug! Jimmy, move over!" Laughing, Jim gave him a hug and kissed his mom on the cheek before she shooed them back upstairs.

"Get some rest, that's an order," she mock commanded of them. B.E.N. snapped into a salute and then disappeared with Jim.

The next morning, Morph flew about Jim's room. First he went to the window and rolled up the shade, letting in the late morning light. When that failed to get the sleeping human up, he watched Jim for on a moment before he changed into a bucket and dumped a load of water onto Jim's head.

"WAAAH!" Jim bolted up right, his eyes still half closed as he tried to locate the little pink blob. "You little squig!" He immediately fell backward onto his damp pillow. "Urgh, Morph!" Rolling over, he looked at the holographic clock on the wall and jumped out of bed immediately.

"B.E.N.! We're going to be late! We've got to get going! NOW!" He pulled on a dry shirt and his boots, grabbing his bag as he hopped out the door, one of his boots only part of the way on. B.E.N. stepped out of the kitchen where he'd been when Jim had suddenly decided to jump out of bed.

"What is it Jimmy? Something wrong?" His eyes widened as Jim nearly fell down the stairs in his haste. He wiped his hands on the apron that was around his waist and took the chef's hat off his head, twisting it in his anxiety.

"B.E.N., we're going to be late! Let's go!" Jim swung his arms toward the door, trying to get his point across. As B.E.N. took off the kitchen wear, Sarah stepped out of the back room, the inventory clip in her hands.

"You're leaving now?" She asked, a slight edge to her voice.

"Yeah, we should have been gone like, thirty minutes ago," Jim explained quickly. Dashing, he gave his mom a quick peck on the cheek. "Love you, Mom. We'll see you soon. Bye!" B.E.N. came and gave Sarah a big hug as Jim bolted for the door.

"Bye bye!" He yelled back over his shoulder as he went out after Jim, who was starting up the solar surfer. "Can we both get on?" B.E.N. asked nervously, eyeing the machine as the engine flared to life.

"Yeah, and it's fast. Get on!" Jim grabbed B.E.N.'s arm and swung him up just as the surfer took off. Soaring across the countryside, Jim jerked the sail around until they were headed straight for the spaceport. B.E.N., yelling and screaming, hung on tightly.

"Jimmy! Aren't we going a bit fast?!" BEN felt that if he had a stomach, he probably would have been sick by now… "My wires are getting all scrambled!" He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the increasing whine on the engine right behind him and the jerkiness Jim was creating.

"We've got to get on board in five minutes! We can make it!" The wind rushed past them and none of B.E.N.'s nausea affected him. Jim loved the feeling of the sun beating on him and the thrill solar surfing gave him.

They reached the space port and were forced to fly a little higher to avoid running anybody down. Fists were shaken and people yelled angry things after them, but neither Jim nor B.E.N. were paying any attention to these. Jim searched the docks for the ship he was looking for. Right at the end, there it was, the R.L.S. Legacy. Grinning, he egged the surfer on faster. Then the ship started pulling away from the spaceport.

"NO!" Pushing forward with all his might, Jim was determined not to let this chance pass him by. They got closer and closer, until finally they drew level with it. Any second now it was going to thrust forward and he'd have almost no hope of catching it. He could see Captain Amelia standing upright, with her hands behind her back, behind the helmsman, Delbert.

Shocked that the doctor had decided to come after all, Jim reached out for the edge of the ship. Amelia, with her keen eyes, spotted his sail and immediately ordered a length of rope be brought to throw to him.

Jim's fingers closed around the ship's edge and he had to use all his strength to pull them closer. "B.E.N., grab the ship!" he yelled back. B.E.N. did so and hauled himself over the edge.

"AAAAHHH!" B.E.N. landed right on his mechanical butt with a crash. "I've got to learn a better way to do that!" He stood up and remembered Jim hanging onto the ship behind him "HANG ON, JIMMY!" B.E.N. grabbed onto Jims wrist and pulled. His shout was drown out by the ship's engine getting ready to go to 'all ahead full'.

Letting go of the solar surfer with all but his boot straps, Jim latched onto the ship. There was a rope suddenly thrown out to him. A large deck hand had the other end and was smiling down at him, encouraging him to take it. Grabbing the rope with one hand and then the other, Jim felt the big man hauling him on the deck, with no time to spare. Jim toppled over the edge of the ship, out of breath and being glared down upon by Captain Amelia just as the ship lurched forward.

Panting, Jim smiled. "Morning, Ma'am," he managed between breaths after the movement of the ship had steadied.

The corner of Amelia's mouth flickered and her eyebrow went up, but that was all for a return smile. "Good of you to join us, Mr. Hawkins. Now if you're done sleeping late and are ready to work, you should learn your duties.

Releasing the straps of the surfer, Jim brushed himself off. "Don't tell me I've got kitchen duty again," he grumbled under his breath. Amelia heard him nonetheless.

"No, Mr. Hawkins. I've decided you'll do well up on deck. Make sure you tend to your duties and do as you're told, when you're told. B.E.N., you're to be our navigator, meet me in my stateroom in five minutes and I'll show you the map," Captain Amelia retorted. Her original, fast talking orders whipped out at them and Jim couldn't help smiling.

"If you don't mind me asking, _Captain_," Jim started, careful to put stress on Amelia's rank, "who's the cabin boy?"

Shrugging, Amelia turned to her first mate. "Mr. Churnel, make sure Hawkins here has something to eat and then show him what is to be done."

The first mate, a tall and very thin man, nodded and gestured for Jim to go down to the galley with him.

Slightly annoyed that he hadn't gotten a straight answer, Jim followed him to find out for himself. He was almost afraid to see who the new cook was.

As they went down the steps, Jim coughed as a cloud of smoke entered his nostrils. Morph, who had hidden in his pocket up until now, peeped out and flew through the cloud to investigate. The galley itself was just the same as Jim remembered. The purp barrel had been refilled and the cupboards were practically overflowing. The bowls and pans were all gleaming clean. Over the fire in the middle on the kitchen, sat a huge pot full of a bubbling stew.

There was a hulking figure visible through the cloud of smoke and Jim's breath caught further in his throat as he stepped toward it. The figure stood in a slight lull in the steam surrounding them. Cautious, Jim reached forward and tapped the tall man on the shoulder.

The man turned. A large scar ran from his temple, along his jaw line and down to his chin. His merry green eyes flashed as he smiled down at Jim. His two leather boots clumped down on the wood as he studied the teenager with some skepticism. "What did you want?" he asked in a gruff tone.

"I'm Jim Hawkins. Captain sent me down for a quick meal before I get back to my duties."

The cook smiled and held out his hand. "Mr. Harold Ginns," he introduced himself. "Talen! Get this deck hand some bread and such and send him back up on his way."

A young boy of perhaps ten jumped up from a nearby bench and obeyed the cook's order. The boy, Talen, handed Jim a hunk of bread and a purp, along with a mug, staring at him inquisitively.

Smiling, Jim accepted the food gratefully. Morph appeared again, nibbling on a small cookie he'd seemed to have located, forgotten in one of the cupboards. He settled on the cabin boy's shoulder. Talen, looking alarmed, shifted his gaze back and forth between Jim and the pink blob sitting on his shoulder.

"That's Morph. Careful around him. You never know what he'll be next," Jim joked. His words made the young boy go pale. "He's no trouble at all. Just a bit of a trouble maker. Why are you coming? Aren't you a little young?"

Talen's color returned immediately. "No I'm not! I'm plenty old enough!" This short, angry outburst caught Jim off guard, but he simply smiled.

"All right then. See ya later, kid." He stood and started toward the door. "Good luck with being a cabin boy," Jim called over his shoulder.

Talen glared after the teenager before he was shooed up on deck by a busy Ginns.

**For the purposes of Jim and B.E.N. getting there, we're going to temporarily assume that the space port is not terribly far away from the Benbow and on the same planet instead on the metallic moon-like thing as indicated in the movie……..**

**Ooooh, you were expecting Silver, weren't you? Hmmm, well, keep reading. He might show up. Maybe not, but you're just going to have to read along a little farther to know, won't you?**

**Keep in mind that this fic is listed as a Adventure/Romance. There will be a girl, but not for a chapter or two maybe…. I'm having trouble deciding when to introduce her…**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed and told me they were looking forward to this! I love stuff like that! But please, don't be afraid to tell me if I did/do anything wrong or if you have any suggestions… I'm glad for them…**


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own this. I'm typing and telling a different story, but I don't own the original. Queue theme music!**

Jim was up in the rigging when it happened. It had been a peaceful time in space so far. They had no problem, stopped at one planet for a clean up after they'd been passed by by a large group of what Doc referred to as _Orcas galacticas_ that was much, much too big to be anything but nuisance. Delbert had been fascinated by them, but had grudgingly stayed at his post.

Other than that, they'd been mysteriously incident free. They'd had a black hole devolve from a star the last time they'd set sail and it seemed too quiet out here after the previous journey. He'd been talking to Talen an awful lot but had failed to get anything from the boy like where he was from, who his parents were, if he had siblings, he wouldn't tell Jim anything but what had happened on the ship. Jim had long since resolved to find something out of the secretive boy and was mulling over a few questions he wanted answers.

The work he received as a deck hand was more challenging than being a cabin boy, but he relished the chance to do anything he could. On board he felt important, like he could do something. It had been that way since Silver had encouraged him the night after the black hole.

Thinking about Silver was hard, even now. The old pirate had taken off without tell of where he might be headed. Jim had helped him escape, but he couldn't help being sad that he'd never see the cyborg again. As Jim's own father had taken off, Silver was the only man that had ever really made an effort to be there for Jim and his soft spot for the cabin boy had gotten him into heaps of trouble with his band of renegades. Thankfully though, it had prevented him killing Jim when he had several chances to do it.

There was a cry from the crow's nest, bringing Jim out of his reverie. There was a ship pulled up next to them. Scrambling back down the ropes, he went to the helm. "Hey, guys, what's going on?" Delbert, looking sick with worry and whose hands were gripping the wheel so tightly that his knuckles were white, didn't respond.

B.E.N. looked over at him anxiously. "AAHH! Jimmy! Another ship has come up. We didn't spot it until now… Captain went in a long boat to find out what they want." His lack of bounce indicated just how serious the situation was. "They're flying the pirate flag." His big, blue eyes stuck as far out from his head as they possibly could to see the pirate ship.

"Pirates, huh?" Jim looked speculatively at the colors at the top of the other ship's mast. They were unfamiliar, yet there was an urge that Jim couldn't resist. He slipped away and headed straight for the storage closet. There, next to all the guns, was his solar surfer.

A few minutes later, Jim had dropped off the side of the _Legacy_ and started the surfer far below with Morph cooing at his shoulder. Sailing to the pirate ship underneath was easy enough, but stashing the surfer was harder. The docking area was open, for Captain Amelia's long boat. Getting off and putting the surfer into the long boat, Jim crept up the stairs and followed the sounds of chatter and footsteps.

Tip-toeing around the corner, looking up, Jim ran into someone. With an alarmed noise, Morph dove into his pocket and peeked out from there, having turned into a mini-periscope. Before he had time to look who it was, his arms were thrust up behind his back, wrenching his shoulder. "Hey! Wha-?" He didn't get to speak further before he was shoved forward, his captor keeping a steady, firm hand on his wrists. Only now did it occur to him how stupid he'd been to come without a plasma handgun. Mentally kicking himself, Jim marched along the wooden planks, up the stairs and into the open. No familiar faces greeted him and he started to lose hope.

The hands that had a hold of him sifted and one reached to the side to open a door. Now would have been a great opportunity to run for it, but he decided not to. It might only make things worse. These weren't the pirates they'd met before, to Jim's dismay.

He was next thrust into what could only be a stateroom. Captain Amelia was having a heated discussion with an awfully large man who was leaning over the desk between them. They both looked around as Jim and his captor entered, Amelia giving him such a sharp look that he was sure that if they lived, she would skin him alive.

His arms were released and from behind him stepped one of the most breath taking girls Jim had ever seen. Her long, dark brown hair tied back with a stray piece of string, away from her storm-gray eyes. Only the condescending expression she had on did anything to ruin her looks. The way she held herself, even.

Trying not to stare at her too openly, Jim glanced up at Captain Amelia. "Guess I'm not much of a sneaky kind of person, am I?" Amelia glared at him, her cat's eyes narrowing. Rounding back on the man she'd been arguing with, presumably the captain, she started on such a verbal lashing that even Jim turned red.

"Captain," the large man started, his deep, throaty voice loud, "I would remind you that you are in the presence of younger ears. Keep that sort of language to yourself." His dark, green scales glinted slightly in the firelight from the candles he had standing around the room. Amelia grudgingly conceded.

"You've been dodging my answers, time you tell us what you're about!" She demanded ferociously. "You tell me I have to come for some sort of meeting in which you do no talking and I know nothing, that doesn't seem quite the thing!"

The girl that stood beside Jim shifted slightly and he could see her shoulders shaking from suppressed laughter. He smiled tightly at her, but she didn't seem to notice. "Reyn, cut it out, Dad'll be furious with you if you're holding up the hunt for annoying her," she snapped. Her voice reminded Jim of music, melodic and light. Shaking his head, he tried to get himself to snap out of it, she was a captor, he was a prisoner.

The man, Reyn, chuckled. "Your father won't be mad. Besides, we're bringing him what he wants, right? Not our fault he got held up at the spaceport. We're headed there next, he can't complain." Turning to Jim, he frowned. "What's with him?"

"Found him. Sneaking up from the docking area. Best guess is that _she_ brought him," she nodded to Amelia, "or he stowed away. Doesn't matter much, he's here now. Good leverage."

Reyn nodded. "What's your name, boy?"

Looking cautiously over at Amelia, Jim hesitated before answering. When the Captain approved, he shrugged. "Jim Hawkins."

Both the girl's and Reyn's eyes opened wider. "So you're Jim Hawkins, are you? You're the boy who found Flint's loot? Hard to believe."

Jim shrugged again. "Yeah, that's me."

Reyn nodded a few times before he heaved a huge sigh. "All right. Captain Amelia, we are working for our captain in his absence. He ordered that we bring the _Legacy_ to him by force or by will, doesn't matter. You have something of ours that we had possession of and then was stolen from us. We, ultimately, are after the same thing." Walking around the desk, with his hands behind his back, he continued. "You can either fly with us peacefully, or we can make you. You are to be completely under our control until we are ordered otherwise." He frowned down at Amelia from where he towered over her. "Don't make us do it the hard way," Reyn snarled.

Glaring back, Amelia snorted. "And if we refuse? What if, instead, we choose to stand our ground and fight back, you overgrown, sniveling lizard?"

All of Reyn's friendliness melted away. "That wouldn't be wise of you. We're all hardened fighters and will do too much damage to you for your ship to make it very far. Besides, our men are already unloading your weapons from your ship."

Amelia's face tightened immediately. She didn't take kindly to being ordered around and was clearly wanting to lash out again, but thought better of it. She nodded, lips pursed. "Fine then, let me return to my ship. We'll follow you to your captain."

Reyn, leaning back away from her, nodded. "Good. For good measure though, we'll be keeping Mr. Hawkins here on our ship, for good faith."

"No." Amelia's voice had grown hard. Perhaps she knew exactly what her husband would do (start stammering about how they needed to get Jim back and then use the _Legacy_'s cannons to blast the pirate scum away) or perhaps envisioning B.E.N.'s reaction (wailing and carrying on and not be able to do a damned thing about navigating), but she sounded very adamant on the subject.

"Either leave without him, or take his body back, which would you prefer?" The girl shifted, her eyes sliding from Amelia to Reyn, looking uncomfortable.

Clearly taken aback, Amelia's brow knitted together and her ears slicked back. "You harm him…"

"We won't, so long as you do what you're told." With a smile, Reyn added, "Now be a good kitty and go back and order your ship to do what we've said."

Jim half expected Amelia to attack him then and there, but instead, she cast a saddened glance at Jim and stepped out the door with as much dignity as she could muster.

"Alyss, wait until we're a distance away before you let Mr. Hawkins here loose. Don't want him trying to jump ship on us, do we?"

The girl shook her head and watched Reyn go with affection. "So," started Jim, leaning casually against the desk. Alyss turned and glanced at him wearily. "You and him, huh?" His voice was joking, but he mentally pulled away from the idea.

Alyss stared at him for a moment and then doubled over laughing. Feeling rather slighted, Jim watched her until she was breathing easily enough. She was very pretty, but Jim tried not to concentrate on it.

"No, of course not! He's like my older brother. He's been there since my dad first took me on a ship. He's the last person… ewww." She shook her head one final time for emphasis. "What gave you tha- Wait, why am I talking to you?"

Turning and looking at him properly, she froze. Literally, her whole body went stiff. Jim highly doubted that she saw him quite in the same light he saw her, but it was nice to have that effect, that way he could at least fantasize about it. "Well, I'm the famous Jim Hawkins, and there's no one better around."

Alyss simply nodded, seeming to have completely choked up. A small smile played at her lips. "You know. There are a _lot_ of rumors flying around about you."

"Really?"

"Hmmm-hmmm. The first of which is that you wrestled the map from Billy Bones, jumped on a pirate ship unknowingly and made them follow your course. Something tells me that it's not true." She sidled closer, apparently having regained her mobility, but Jim suddenly wished she hadn't. He swallowed nervously, the flush rising in his cheeks.

"Not exactly. Close, but not exactly." Pushing off from the desk, he smiled in what he hoped was a way as intriguing as her own smile.

Her eyes narrowed and something niggled him in the back of his mind, a warning that she knew _exactly_ what happened and that he shouldn't bluff. "Learn to pick your fights a bit more carefully," Alyss suggested ominously. "The pirate's daughter isn't a good place to start." Her grin quirked to one side and the door opened.

"Alyss, you're all right to bring the prisoner on deck." The crewman nodded to her and ducked back out.

Having walked to the door, Alyss called over her shoulder. "You're free to wander about. Try to escape, or anything other funny things, and we _will_ have to lock you up."

Days passed. Reyn had Jim work on the boat, removing barnacles and scrubbing every inch of the ship, it was almost as if he was a cabin boy again. But this time, the tasks were harder, and required more physical skill to be able to do them. Soon he was put to work hauling crates of supplies around. He longed to reach in and grab something edible.

Jim could tell that there were better meals than the stale bread and cheese with water that he was getting served, he could smell it. The trouble was that he couldn't taste it. Reyn may have been a bit of a joker, but he was no fool when it came to treatment and wouldn't let Jim anywhere near the food larders.

Everyday someone from the _Legacy_ was sent to make sure that he was unharmed and doing well enough. Sometimes it was Amelia herself, when she felt she had a shot of bargaining for his freedom, but she never succeeded. Once B.E.N. had come over, but he'd been so nervous and loud that Reyn had banned him from the ship.

Morph was a constant companion. At night, when Jim was locked in the brig, he did different imitations of people he'd known or seen sometime in his life. They were usually comical and held some mockery of the person. Once, at Jim's request, he did Silver. Laughing and walking about with the mechanical leg, the fake Silver had a high voice and said random things that he'd told Jim before. Morph also did Reyn, a large squid-like person on board, Captain Amelia, Delbert, B.E.N., and some of the previous crew of the _Legacy_, from the first trip Jim had been on.

Alyss, it seemed, was Jim's permanent guardian. She had a knife on her belt and was with Jim for most of the day. The rest of the crew was too busy both keeping an eye on the _Legacy_ and trying to sail their own ship to notice that they really only chatted for the entire time. Once Morph showed himself, Alyss was absolutely delighted with the little pink blob. The two of them hit it off even more famously than Jim had done with him. They seemed to know each other and Morph easily did his impressions for the female pirate. Jim could help but wonder if all the attention the blob was giving the girl was due to how she looked. Morph had always been attracted to pretty things.

As if she sensed his thoughts, Alyss looked up at him, bright scarlet. "I love morphs. They are so much fun," she whispered as one of the crew members walked up. He told Alyss that Reyn said it was near time for the prisoner to have his rations and then be stowed away for the night.

So there were bright points, even as Jim passed through the hard, toiling days and little food. He was alive and had Morph and Alyss, he couldn't have asked for more from these pirates. Until the rescue attempt happened……….

**And that's all for now folks! Hope you enjoyed my new chapter all! Sorry about the cliff hanger, but sometimes it has to happen… tune in next time for the rescue attempt, the romance getting a little more dangerous and the life-threatening situation that ensues!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own this. Sorry it took so long, what with the technical difficulties and then our monitor broke down so I couldn't see what I was doing and then our keyboard, I was not meant to post this, but I shall have this one done and the next one much sooner then you got this! **** KatPhish P.S. This chapter and the next used to be 1 so that's why this is short and seems silly that it took so long coming....**

Jim was sitting in the brig when the rescue attempt happened. He could hear muffled footsteps and a slight clanking from above his head. Sitting up on the hard bench, he watched the limited light that was coming in through the gap created by the stairs leading down to the prisoner's floor.

Several figures emerged from the gloom and crept down toward him. Luminous blue eyes peered down at Jim and he knew immediately what had been clinking before. B.E.N. had come. Chuckling quietly, he leaned against the bars. "What are you guys doing? You'll never get me out of here, they lock me in and then give the keys to Alyss or Reyn."

"We know that," came a horribly familiar whisper. Captain Amelia, and Delbert, most likely were also there. "We have the key with us."

"But how-?"

"You know, I had you marked for a skeptic, but I didn't know you were such a noisy one…" hissed Alyss's voice from the gloom as she fumbled with the key ring as silently as she could.

"Alyss? What the-? Look, you shouldn't be doing this! It's one thing for the others, but you're a traitor! They won't treat you so kindly."

"They have to, their boss is my father. He's the captain of this ship and nobody dares argue with the captain. Besides, you guys are going to knock me out when you're done."

Before Jim could open his mouth, Amelia glared at him. "Mr. Hawkins, this is a _silent_ rescue attempt. It would help if you were _silent_."

Shutting up, Jim nodded and waited until Alyss got done and let him out. They crept up the stairs and Alyss turned to the crewmembers of the Legacy and nodded grimly, her eyes lingering on Jim just a second longer before she closed her eyes.

Acting quickly, Amelia swung her booted foot up and struck Alyss on the temple. The girl dropped instantly and they started walking away.

"WHHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! SOMETHING'S GOT ME!" screamed B.E.N. Amelia turned in a flash, ready to shut him up but stopped at the sight of a very groggy looking guard. The guard was still partially asleep and was clinging to B.E.N.'s ankle as if it was going to save him.

B.E.N., panicking, kicked at him wildly and the man relinquished his grip but he was a little too late. Lanterns were being lit and people were emerging from below. A few of them realized what was going on and yelled for others and leapt forward. B.E.N., Amelia, Delbert and Jim ran for it, but they all realized that they were doomed.

One of the thick, burly men caught Jim and held a gun to his head. Amelia glared at him and stopped. Delbert, standing beside her, screwed up his face. "Jim…." Was all he managed, horrified that yet again he'd landed the boy in a life threatening position with pirates. Sarah would kill him if he was lucky enough to live through this.

Reyn walked up, his shirt flopping out of his belt, half carrying an out-cold Alyss. He set her on the steps and gave her little slaps across the face until she woke up. When she did, she looked around anxiously and her eyes widened as she saw the _Legacy's_ crew captured. She looked horrified.

"You caught them then?" she asked quietly. Reyn nodded

"What do you know of it?" Jim could hear his heart beating faster and harder until he thought it would leap out of his chest. He couldn't bear it if Alyss was punished for an attempt to rescue him, it wouldn't be right, but he kept his mouth shut tight.

"Only that they came on board, one of them kicked me in the head and took the keys. Otherwise they couldn't have let him out." Reyn looked exasperated and nodded.

"Well, yes, that much is obvious, but do you know anything else?"

"I told you all that I know, it's not my problem if you already knew it, is it?" she snapped as if touchy about having been snuck upon. Reyn backed away from her and drew his knife, grabbing one of Jim's arms, he jerked the sleeve up and laid the blade against his skin. As the metal bit into his skin, Jim screwed up his face trying not to utter a sound through the pain.

Delbert lunged forward, as if he could do anything, but one of the deck hands caught him and Amelia shook her head to mean that he wasn't to do it again. Reyn kept his knife biting into Jim's arm until blood welled up.

Pulling back his knife, he wiped it clean and looked over at Jim's attempting rescuers. "Try anything like this again and it'll be more than just this scar you have to worry about." The deep cut bled freely from just below his elbow, emphasizing his point. It wasn't near any major arteries, just hurt like hell.

"So, I suggest that you scurry back over to your own ship and tell them to double time it when we get going in the morning, which," he added, looking at the sky, "should only be a few hours from now."

Unhappy and unwilling, Amelia, Delbert, and B.E.N. were lead back to the long boat they had snuck onto the ship with, were forced to get in and were watched until they appeared back on the deck of the Legacy.

Jim let out a slight gasp of pain as his wound started throbbing. "I might bleed to death," he complained as Reyn started walking away.

The large man paused. "Alyss, get the first aid, make sure he's taken care of. Can't have him dying on us. Captain would get us back just as easily."

Alyss disappeared into the galley and came back with a large length of gauze. Sitting Jim down as the rest of the crew slowly went back to their bunks, she shook her head. "Noisy robot you've got there," she commented snippily.

Jim shrugged his good arm. "That's B.E.N. for you. Sorry he got after you. Sorry we got caught…"

"Stoppit, Jim," she snapped irritably as she tightened his dressing and finished, glaring at him.

"Sorry." He couldn't help cracking a smile.

Alyss rolled her eyes at him and then leaned over the railing of the deck. "Reyn's out of control. He shouldn't be able to do this, but no one has the power to make him stop except for Dad." She ran a weary hand over her face.

"So when are we meeting you famous father?" Jim asked nonchalantly, leaning on the railing beside her, staring out at space as they passed it by. The motion made his arm twinge, but he ignored it and concentrated on listening.

"Soon, thank the stars. He's great. Dad owns this tavern called the Spyglass. He wasn't around for most of my childhood. He was always going off on adventures and I never wanted anything more than to go with him. When he came back from his last one, he'd become a pirate. I don't know how long that was going on, but he kept it from me and Mom. Mom died and so h promised to let me join the crew.

"At first, he didn't want to keep his promise, but then I finally convinced him and he sent us out here to find a map and return. On Montressor we stopped at a farm and that was the last time anyone saw the map. We accidentally returned without it and Dad wasn't happy, but then he told us to intercept all ships leaving Montressor and heading this way and to bring him anyone who was on board, at any cost." Alyss shook her head in disgust. "Only Reyn would think of this within seconds of the offense. He's clever; it's why he's first mate. And he's ruthless, that certainly helps."

Jim nodded, shaking his arm a little, trying to make the needle-like feeling go away.

"You should get some sleep, Jim. Now that he's started this, you'll lose a lot of blood. You'll need your energy." She took him back to his cell and didn't bother to lock the door.

Jim fell asleep quickly and his dreams were filled with sharp knives and Alyss's face twisted into pity and longing.


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own this either…. You should know this by know, but just in case…. KatPhish**

"Oy, you, we're making port, get yer sorry arse of the bench and get a move on, will ya?" It was one of the rougher deckhands yelling at Jim this time. He looked sickly over at the cell door. The three cuts on each arm sapped most of his strength, but he managed to sit up and stumble clumsily over to the door.

The deckhand hauled Jim up the brig's steps by the scruff of his neck and handed him over to Alyss, who slipped an arm around him and supported him until she got him to a safer place to sit. "Here, eat these, they'll give you your strength back for a time," she offered, putting something into his mouth. When he bit into them, they made a satisfactory crunch and he immediately felt better and he stood up, with a little help.

"Wow, how'd you know that? Why couldn't I have them before?"

"Because too much can kill you. I figured a little saved up until when you needed it the most would be good enough," she retorted, but a smile was on her lips as she looked into his face.

"Thanks, you're great. So, what's going on?" he turned, looking around, trying to hide his red cheeks.

"You'd think we'd have made it here earlier, but we're finally about to see Dad again. The Spyglass is really close to port and we'll only have to walk a short distance before you can sit back down." She glanced around anxiously and smiled tightly. "The landing party is going in soon. Reyn has ordered that the _Legacy_ be guarded until we get back with Dad's orders."

"So who's going in?"

A shadow fell over the two of them and Reyn scowled. "Captain Amelia, her husband, you two, myself and a few of my own crewmen, to keep you all in line." He grabbed Jim by the neck and pushed him toward the gangplank. "Alyss, watch him, make sure he doesn't run off or, more likely, pass out." Grinning to himself, he stalked away to assemble the landing team.

Less than an hour later, Jim was shuffled along the stone path beside Captain Amelia and Delbert. Morph sat on his shoulder, cooing worriedly and trying to hide his pink self in Jim's jacket. Surprisingly, the cabin boy from the _Legacy_, Talen, came along as well.

Within moments they had reached the swinging door to the Spyglass. Smoke filled the air making the vision hazy and Delbert erupted into a fit of coughing. Amelia looked at him briefly to make sure he'd be alright and then went to surveying the dim room.

Every table was filled with loud, singing, and drunk men, though it was early. A few tables among the chaos were sober and sat eating their food peacefully, enjoying the humorous sight before them.

Alyss took the lead and showed them to a back room where there was a long table at which she told the entire company to sit until she got someone to find her father. One of the maids that came to see if they needed anything was only too willing once she saw who Alyss was, and her company no doubt.

Alyss sat beside Reyn and pulled out the dagger she kept on her hip at all times. She fidgeted with the stupid blade until Reyn plucked it from her fingers, glaring at her. Tucking it away reluctantly, Alyss suddenly stiffened. Both she and Talen leapt from their seats and rushed to the door just as it burst open, revealing one of the largest silhouettes Jim had ever seen.

The two of them lunged into the large man's arms, yelling "DAD!" simultaneously. It took a moment for two things to hit Jim like a ton of rocks. Alyss and Talen were siblings and Talen had to have been a spy, letting his sister's crew know exactly where the_ Legacy_ was…

The second thing was that, as the smoke cleared, Jim recognized the figure that Alyss and Talen were embracing. Not only recognized but knew. It was Captain Long John Silver. His chair shot back from underneath him as he stood up suddenly.

Captain Amelia spoke up before he could open his mouth. "Well, if it isn't the mutinous cook of the Treasure Planet expedition. Tell me, Silver, how did you escape my ship and narrowly avoid your just dessert for holding us all prisoner?"

Silver chuckled, his stomach jiggling as he let go of his son and daughter. It still made Jim's mind reel that Alyss was his old friend's daughter. "Ah, Captain Amelia, aren't ye just a sight fer sore eyes. I should've known that ye'd be the one to head out with me map. Who else did ye bring fro…" his voice trailed off as his gaze lit upon the grinning Jim.

In a moment, the two were in just as tight an embrace as Silver had just shared with his kids. "Jimbo, by all the wonders in the universe, I thought I'd never see ye after I sailed off in that long boat! Morph!" he exclaimed as Morph came out of hiding. "Have ye been keeping an eye on him, like I asked ye to?" Morph nodded eagerly and cuddled into Silver's neck.

"Jim? Did you have something to do with the disappearance of this miserab-misbe-miscreant?" Delbert spluttered, trying to voice as little of his opinion as he could.

Amelia shot him a look. "Delbert, now isn't the time for calling names, even given how satisfying it is." She laid a soothing hand on her husband's arm and smiled tightly at him.

"Very sensible of ye, Captain," Silver grinned, bowing low. He turned to inspected Talen, Alyss and Jim, each in turn, looking as if he could just drink the three of them in. When he got to Jim, Jim could feel his energy starting to fade and he nearly collapsed.

Alyss lunged forward and caught him around the waist again. Careful not to jostle his arms, she sat him down in a chair and glared at Reyn.

"Jimbo? What's wrong?"

Jim shook his head, trying to make the room stop spinning as Alyss snarled under her breath.

"What was that, Al?" Silver looked back and forth from daughter to former cabin boy.

"Jim was our incentive for good behavior. If the Legacy's crew did anything Reyn didn't like, he did this," she scowled, tenderly pushing Jim's sleeves up past his bandages. They were still bleeding and little red spots had begun to appear.

Silver's cyborg eye turned red. "Reyn, is that true?!" Incredulity and anger mixed in his voice.

Reyn, suddenly looking humble and contrite, bowed his head and nodded. "I was following your orders, sir. You said bring the map, and the ones carrying it, to you at any cost. His ship had it, and he was the cost they had to pay. He'll heal up just fine. We didn't give him any serious cuts."

"What in blue blazes do you call that?!" Silvers voice raised and he stood straighter, pulling himself up to his full height, which was already very intimidating.

Jim watched the father figure he'd come to like so much rage over his welfare. Alyss sat beside him, smiling. "Good, Reyn's getting what he deserved."

"You never told me…"

"That John Silver was my dad? No, I didn't think it would be wise. I wasn't sure how you thought of him anymore."

"I was going to say that Talen's your brother, but that works too." Jim grinned, unable to help his cheerful mood. He got eye rolled at him for that.

"Mr. Silver, if you please, explain why you had us brought here immediately. If we are of no great importance, you have no right to demand our cooperation." Ice dripped from Captain Amelia's voice as she spoke. Delbert stood at her side, arms crossed and glaring into the distance. Neither of them was nearly as happy to see the old pirate as Jim or Alyss.

"Oh, Captain, I nearly forgot ye there! Well, I'll bring in the stew and we'll go over details once this bag of scum standing before me has scrubbed the table spotless." He glared at Reyn, who looked relieved. "There'll be more work waiting for you afterward as well, boyo."

Jim tried to hide his smile, but the ugly face Reyn made in on the way past showed he didn't do a very good job.

*************************************************************************************************************

Silver sat down heavily in front of his own bowl of stew, everyone now had one before them and the old captain groaned in relief. "This old leg of mine can't take much of that anymore," he chuckled, picking up his spoon.

Morph, sitting on Silver's shoulder, eyed the stew longingly and changed into large, pleading eyes. "Oh alright, you silly blob. Always hungry for me stew, eh?" Morph nodded and went to eat some of the stew left in the kitchen.

"Silver!" snapped Captain Amelia, who hadn't touched her food. Talen, on the side unoccupied by Delbert, slurped and hungrily attacked his stew. Amelia leaned away from him slightly, distancing herself from that disaster. "What do you want with us, out with it!"

Silver looked up, surprised. "Why, Captain, you cut me to the quick! I was about to tell you that we were going to use your very fine skills as a captain, and your entire crew in our little adventure. It'll be like old times!"

"Old times when you planned a mutiny in our very midst?! When you tied us up and held us at gun point?!" Delbert huffed, barely getting the words out in the right order. Jim looked darkly into his stew as he stirred it with his spoon. Silver had been like a Dad to him and had saved and spared his life many times by now, but there was the time that they had both hated each other, or at least had to make it seem like it.

Silver nodded, pursed his lips and took a deep breath. "Understand that Flint's trove and the stories drove me mad years before that. The greed swallowed me like a black hole and it was all I could think of. If pirates were to be the way of it, it be my way, I decided."

"This is any different?" Amelia questioned severely, her brows arching and looking at him skeptically.

"Give him a chance to explain, Captain!" Jim told her, his voice a little sharper than he'd planned. Amelia galred at him, but pressed her lips together and nodded. She turned back to Silver, her eyes a little narrower, but she held silent.

"I was going to invite you fine spacers on this here little voyage. It's not entirely my fault that Reyn was thick enough to do what he did to Jimbo, he'll be staying here when we go. Gronig will step up as first mate." Silver nodded and leaned back in his chair, as if he'd just completed the most generous offer in the galaxy.

Delbert's eyes grew wide. "If you think we'd- that we'd even consider your- if even for a moment-"

"Delbert, it's a perfectly reasonable proposition." Amelia's ears had perked up and she was listening with interest now. "I don't think I am personally able to let such a fiend get away with the treasure. And if we refuse they'll hardly let us leave on our merry way."

Silver smiled and shrugged. "Wouldn't like getting stabbed in the back, now would we?"

Amelia, distracted, shook her head. "It's really quite a logical path, once you get around the idea that they should all be hung for kidnapping and torturing."

Delbert cocked his head to the side and gaped at his wife with horror. "Oh, don't look at me that way. I want the children to be able to see their parents again," she murmured. Delbert nodded and closed his mouth.

"I see your point," he replied quietly. He nodded absently, thinking of his beautiful little daughters and baby boy.

Jim felt the smile coming back. "So we're sailing with them?" his voice was strained, fighting to keep the elation out of it.

Amelia's ears slicked back immediately. "Mr. Hawkins, seeing how you were a part of this particular pirate's escape, I should leave you here." She paused as his face contorted and he was about to protest. "But seeing how Reyn is here, it might not be very wise. You are to come and once your arms heal, you'll be back on deck hand duty on my ship." Her tone was final and even Silver dare not argue.

"All righty then," beamed Silver. "We'll be leaving first thing te-marra. Once we stock up on provisions and such." He drank what was left of his stew and stood.

Alyss, having sat quietly next to Jim this entire time, smiled wanly, stirring her stew with a troubled expression clouding her eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own this, amazing huh? Sorry, life got the better of me for a while. KatPhish**

The solar sails were up on both ships and Amelia was hashing out orders for the men to get a move on. The Legacy crew was still in despairing, cooperating with pirates, but they were able to fly by brushing aside their qualms. Jim was freshly bandaged by one of the more handy men just before they took off.

Silver was on the other ship doing the same, but preparing his men differently. While Amelia was in the rigging, checking that everything was done correctly, he was wheeling about the main deck, bellowing orders and relying on Alyss to double check on things above deck. Jim smiled at the familiar voice and regretted that he couldn't be near his friend.

Before long, they had shot off into the sky again, leaving the spaceport far behind them. It was relaxing, being up amongst the stars and following orders. There were no pressing reasons to rush about your duties, and so long as they got done, nobody minded how quickly you did. They sailed steadily West, as B.E.N. had indicated they should.

The poor robot was nervous about dealing with pirates. His only memories of Silver, jumbled as they were, included being held at knife point, Jim facing off against him, and then him helping to save the day by melding a jet to an iron board for Jim. He was uneasy now that this brutish man seemed to be calling the shots. However, he did as he was told and directed their course for the treasure.

Delbert, when he wasn't steering the ship, helped B.E.N. to translate some of the more obsolete words from an ancient language into more useful ones. He stood at the helm night and day, mostly, and accepted food when Amelia brought it to him. He didn't have much of a taste for the cook's food, but was willing to suffer through when he saw his wife's anxious face asking him to.

The doctor was ill at ease about the pirates as much as B.E.N. was. He'd had enough experience in seeing how deceivingly kind Silver could be and didn't trust the cyborg as far as he could throw him, and he possessed a rather bad throwing arm.

Jim, Alyss, Morph, and Silver seemed the only ones that liked the situation at hand. Of course, neither of the crews really liked the new compromise because they would have to share more of the treasure.

Alyss meanwhile, was happy to have her father back on board and finally be able to sail with him. She missed Jim being on their ship, but it wasn't like she wouldn't ever see him again. She told herself that she would not be sad that he wasn't next to her constantly during the day.

Jim was under strict orders not to do anything that could open his cuts back up. He ended up helping in the galley most days, unable to climb or tow things that needed to be. He regretted be back down here after everything, but he knew that he was lucky to be allowed to peel the vegetables under Amelia's careful eye.

One night, he snuck back on deck after most of the crew had gone to sleep. There was now a very thick rope tied from one ship to the other, to ensure that the Legacy wouldn't be pulling away from Silver's ship. There wasn't much of a distance between the two hulls because of this.

Taking a deep breath, Jim started from the center of the Legacy's deck and gave himself a running start. With a daring that the crewman in the crow's nest had never before seen, he leapt over the small gap and landed with a thud on the other deck. Footsteps came running his way, and Jim, for the first time, thought about who might find him first when he had followed through with his plan.

The footsteps paused as they reached the deck and then started directly for him even faster. "Jim! What are you doing here?" Alyss's voice was low and frustrated, but he could tell from the look on her face that she was pleased.

"Coming to see you," he responded casually, standing and leaning against the side of the ship to add to his nonchalance. "Why else would I sneak aboard a pirate ship in the middle of the night? To be thrown in the brig again?" Rolling his eyes dramatically, Jim grinned.

Alyss, flattered, softened her attitude and adopted a look of complete mollification. "Aw, how sweet. No flowers?" she mocked, leaning beside him. Sliding, she sat down, legs stretched in front of her, and sighed. "This treasure had better be worth the trouble that map has caused us," she grumbled.

Jim slid to sit down too. "You calling me trouble?"

Despite herself, Alyss laughed. "Yeah, I am. So what? You gonna do something about it?" She turned toward him, a cynical expression ready on her face. It was only a moment however, and her eyes locked with Jim's. It was an intense moment, his brown eyes seeming to burn into her green ones. He leaned forward, unable to stay away from her anymore. She looked panicked but started towards him too. The man in the crow's nest suddenly let off a high, keening whistle that made both teens cover their ears. The crew was being roused now and Alyss scrambled up right to look over the edge of the ship.

"Oh no…" she groaned. A meteor shower was beginning and there was no avoiding it.

Jim, still stunned, got up more slowly and tugged on Alyss's sleeve. "I need to get back on the _Legacy_," he told her solemnly. She nodded, knowing that she what she had done and seemed to truly regret it. She looked over the gap, which was rapidly growing now that the crews were awake.

"We still have your solar surfer on board if you would like to use that," she offered, trying to offer him something that would cheer him up. Jim nodded and she led him to the storage closet. "We- um…"

"Alyss! Wer are ye?" Silver's voice boomed as several small meteorites hit the sides of the ship, making it rock.

"I'll see you when all this is over," Jim told her firmly. He planted a quick kiss on her lips, revved the surfer's engine and sped over the ship's rail onto the _Legacy_. Alyss stared after him, her fingers pressed to her smiling lips, before she was again reminded of her worrying father and her duties.

Amelia, as the strong, fierce woman she was, was running around the ship, double checking every small detail. "Fasten the sails, man the laser cannons, lower all power!" The ship came to a stand still as both energy and sail ceased to be used. Men with laser pistols shot the small meteorites out of harm's way, but the ship only had two major cannons. Jim had one of the pistols and was firing hastily into the storm.

There were two people lost on their ship and three on Silver's. Jim was eaten with worry until the two ships were securely tied together. They were lucky to have survived. The ships were both in states of almost complete disrepair, with gaping holes punctured into the sides and some of the sail's rigging snapped or splintered. They would need repairs, and soon. One of the boosters on the back of Silver's ship had been damaged and they weren't about to let the _Legacy_ fly on ahead, even if they could.

When the planks were secured to allow travel back and forth, Jim was right behind Amelia and Delbert as B.E.N. manned (robotted) the helm. He craned his neck to see who was still on board. He noted with no certain degree of relief that Alyss and Silver were among the living, ordering people around as usual.

Alyss stood under her father's arm, who looked as if he was seriously considering the terms under which he had allowed his only daughter to come aboard a space ship with him. Jim ran to them, and hugged Silver fiercely, making eye contact with Alyss as he did. Her eyes burned at him from around her father's considerable girth.

Amelia sniffed at this display of affection and turned her attention to the pirate captain. "Well, Silver, seems a fine mess we've flown into. I don't suppose that map of yours has any nearby planets with repair docks listed does it?" She question was sharp and sarcastic, not meant to be answered. "I know of several space stations in the area, but not one of them has repair docks, at least not in the past five years."

Silver frowned down at her. "Oh, cap'n, ye always wer a bit quick-tempered. I'm sure we'll arrive jest fine. After all, we got ar ships, we got ar crews, there ain't nothing that we can't handle after that shower."

Amelia bristled. Delbert stepped in, trying to give his wife time to calm down and regain her composure. "Captain Silver, after the last two days fighting like that on such little sleep and food, and taking all the damages, and… tolls… that we have, I'd say this is the only time we wouldn't be able to handle a thing that came our way."

Looking over his shoulder at the shroud-draped figures of his lost crew men, Silver nodded. "Aye, tis a grave time. We'll dock at te nearest port and see if tey can't scrounge up a lad or two willin to make a few fixes fer us. We''l find some-un to repair it, no worries there."

He, Amelia and Delbert went of to the stateroom to discuss where they would be going, which left Jim and Alyss in the center of the deck together, surrounded by crewmen. Jim smiled at her and started forward, but she shook her head. "Not now, Jim. They were good people. I don't feel like having those kind of feelings right now."

She looked so vulnerable right then, glancing at the shrouds, that Jim obeyed her. He didn't know when she would feel ready for the affection that they shared, but he'd be ready and waiting for her whenever she decided.

**And so, the romance takes flight, however, the ships don't. At least not very well. They're moving SSSSSSLLLLLLLOOOOOWWWWLLLYYYY, and keep in mind that it's a week or two between this one and the next chapter… Keep reading, but before you head away from this beautiful page, there's this pretty little button below that happens to say "Review". Click it, see what happens, and follow through for me. Too many complaints about absence could be bad though. I want content reviews, not "neglectful parent" labeling. Thanks a ton for not giving up on me!**


	7. Chapter 7

"**LA! I DON'T OWN THIS! LALALALALALALAALALA!" I'm sure it's a huge surprise to all of you, right?- KatPhish**

Jim walked beside Alyss in the market as they wandered around the town where they had docked. The planet didn't have a repair man, but they did have a man who said he could fix on makeshift components so that they could get to a planet that did. But it would be a while. He didn't have any of the tools that he thought necessary.

They chatted amiably at first, but they soon fell into silence. Alyss knew that Jim was trying to be patient but she was scared of her feelings for him. She didn't want to feel this helpless around anybody, especially since she probably wouldn't ever have a chance with him. She didn't want to let him go or let their easy friendship become something if it wouldn't ever get off the ground.

Jim was willing to take it slow, but he wondered whether she even wanted to. He tried to be with her whenever he could, to show how much he cared for her, but it didn't seem to be working. When they returned to the ship, he had an idea.

Arms having long healed up, Jim had no difficulty or pain as he lifted his solar surfer from storage. Alyss stared at him from across the ship, her legs curled up to her chest. He casually strapped his feet on and snapped the sail open. The sun gleamed over the fabric, shining and catching the attention of those around them.

"Would you like to come?" he asked casually. Alyss shook her head, staring at the surfer distrustfully. Jim shrugged and stepped on the switch for power. The solar surfer took off, rocketing into the sky over the port. Alyss ran to the ship's rail and watched him go.

Jim relaxed. He hadn't been on his surfer in a long time. Not in a way that he could enjoy, anyway. Leisurely, he spun and looped over the houses and shops. The golden fabric shone and threw light over those on the ground, who looked up to watch the aerial display. Small children smiled and pointed at him, laughing and yelling to him.

Circling back to the ship, Jim held his hand out to Alyss. She stared at his hand for a moment before placing hers in it. Her hands were clammy, but she clambered onto the surfer with him anyway, holding tight to his waist. "Jim, you'll be careful, right?" she asked, the pitch of her voice raised in fear.

"Yeah, when am I not?" He grinned and they took off again.

They were climbing higher and higher into the sky. Alyss was starting to whimper behind him, squeezing his waist uncomfortably. "JIM!"

Just as she screamed his name, Jim grinned wolfishly and let the sail fall. The nose of the surfer tipped back downward, sending them into a plummeting spiral. Alyss screamed, drawing all eyes to them. The ground came closer and closer, making everyone gasp and call out shouts for help.

As soon as they had made enough of a spectacle of themselves, and before it was too late, Jim released the sail. It snapped open, unfurling and catching the air, catching them up sharply before they hit the ground. Air whooshed past them and he heard Alyss gasp with relief behind him, her arms going weak.

Before she fainted, Jim managed to land safely and catch her in his arms. She stared up at him reproachfully, unable to come up with enough energy to speak. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Jim teased her. She scoffed, but her face was lit up by a smile and, in front of all the onlookers, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him squarely on the lips.

What neither of them knew or realized was that Tallon was in the crowd, watching his sister kiss and be kissed by Jim Hawkins. He returned to his father's ship immediately.

Jim and Alyss walked into a tavern later in the evening, all smiles, and were greeted by a cheer from the already present customers. The bartender waved at them, grinning and calling for his wife to serve the 'bold young couple who put such a show on for us earlier." Alyss blushed and went with Jim to sit at a secluded table and smiled shyly at him.

The bartender's wife came over to their table immediately. She was smiling widely at the two of them, making Jim's ego rise even higher and he felt the grin on his own face grow even wider. "Well, well, if it isn't the pair of lovebirds from this afternoon. You sure know how to set the town on its ear. Everyone heard this girl's scream, as if we hadn't been watching you already. That was rather bold of you, just to get a kiss from her." She winked at Alyss and then, in a mothering tone, said, "I'll bring you the special, on the house." With that, she walked back away, though neither Alyss nor Jim had said anything.

Alyss laughed and shook her head. "Why did you do all that, Jim? To scare me, impress me, what? How did you know that would make it easier?"

Jim shrugged. "Back at the Benbow, I waited on tables for a while. There would sometimes be difficult customers that couldn't seem to make up their mind or decide how to treat me. I let it go on for a while, but it was driving me crazy. Sooner or later, I figured that "breaking the ice" helped a lot. Once they had something easy to talk about with me or whoever they were with, they relaxed and could finally decided what they wanted on the menu."

"Are you my menu choice then, Jim?" Alyss teased.

He looked her in the eyes and shrugged, his own cheeks turning a little red. "I'd like to be," he told her seriously.

Caught unaware, Alyss smiled as the bartender's wife brought them their food, a wonderful smelling roast. The young couple chatted over their dinner as the room threw admiring and wistful glances their way, wishing they could also be young and in love again.

For the doorway of the tavern, Silver watched them too. He leaned against the doorjamb, looking through the distorted glass.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hiyas All! I hope that I've been missed…. As evil as that sounds. I would like to make a minor correction… In chapter 5, Silver said he would b leaving Reyn behind and then the dastardly first-mate reappears in chapter six. Luckily, he was mentioned only in passing and not given any big parts. Only reading back over them do I realize my mistakes… I've made my corrections in the sixth chapter, but you won't really notice if you go back and read. He really did get left behind… and he's not happy about it…**

**I do not own this….. duh- KatPhish**

Jim whistled happily as he went about his duties. Alyss and he had been keeping their relationship underwraps, so he was getting a lot of strange looks from those around him. Captain Amelia watched from the helm as her unusually happy deck hand helped restore the ship with the man who had agreed to patch the holes up.

"Darling," she asked over her shoulder to Delbert, who looked up from his map, "do you know what has Jim so cheerful? I admit that it's a nice change, but it seems to be a bit of an incongruity."

Delbert straightened and went to wrap an arm around his wife's waist. "I'm sure that he's just happy to see John Silver alive. They were quite close on the Treasure Planet expedition."

Shaking her head, Amelia disagreed, "But Silver has been with us for weeks now. Why is it that he's only just getting so chipper about it?"

Sighing, the doctor realized that his feline companion was in one of her moods and was not to be persuaded that it was nothing. He kissed her on the cheek and returned to his map. "I'm sure we'll find out what it is before long, my dear."

Amelia nodded, distracted, and turned around to look at her husband. Their son looked so much like him, so darling and adorable. Their daughters were probably giving him a hard time, as they normally did. "Do you think the children are all right?" she asked, her tone worried.

Looking up again, Delbert saw the unusually uncertain expression and went to hug her tightly. "I'm sure their perfectly well. Sarah will take good care of them. She considers us family and will look after our children as if they were her own."

From the deck of the other ship, Silver could see the small moment passing between the husband and wife. It reminded him of the way he had felt about his wife before she had died. He'd practically been forced to choose between losing his children or taking them along, so he'd made them a part of the crew. Talen was a sulken boy who disliked sailing, but he was too young to start his own life. Alyss was a loving girl who adored sailing, but now Silver, as a father, knew that he had to address her love of Jim.

The romance had been unfolding slowly… It pained the old captain to watch. He had helped Jim become the confident, bright person he was now, and he wanted both teenagers to be happy. He just didn't want their happiness to mean being together as they were. Was it so wrong to want to love them both as his children? A brother should not look at his sister the way Jim looked at Alyss, however.

Sadly, this had to be put a stop to.

Jim and Alyss were together on the deck one night when Silver walked up. The two had been smiling and laughing quietly to each other, but ceased when the girl's father approached. Jim turned to see why Alyss had fallen so quiet and smiled at Silver.

"Hello, Captain," he joked, still in a good mood, "what can we do for you?"

"Alyss, go check the longboats and the rope in the loadin' dock, will ye? We doan know how much damage we've got down there." He patted her on the shoulder as she scuttled off nervously, throwing glances back at the two men. Something was wrong…

Jim's smile slowly disappeared as Silver leaned against the railing. "Silver, something wrong?" The younger man rested his elbows on the railing so that he was in the same position as Silver, but the larger man frowned at him.

"Jimbo, I know 'bou' ye and Alyss, and I want ye te stop. She doan know love from anythin' else in this world. She thinks she loves ye…"

Jim looked down to the legions of stars below the space port. "Maybe she does, Silver." He shrugged. "Even if we're not the real thing, I'm willing to put my neck out there for her. We thought you'd be happy that her first love was a man you already knew pretty well."

Silver sighed, glancing over his shoulder for Alyss. "Look, boyo, I love ye like a son. Ye know that, but I'm not comfertable with ye and her carryin' on like ye have bin. Talen came and told me about the two of ye in the market that day with yer solar surfer."

Jim snapped. He'd always had a short-temper, but now the one man he'd counted on being happy for them was refusing to let him see his daughter. "You know what, Silver? When I'm with her, it's the happiest I've been in a long time. When I found out that you were her father, and you joined the ship, life just kept getting better. And now that I know that I'm not just driving myself crazy with my feelings for her, and believing that she feels the same way about me, I don't think I can give that up." He looked up and glared at his former boss.

Silver's mechanic eye gleamed angrily, but it hadn't yet turned red. "Jim, I'm askin' ye as nicely as I kin te leave me daughter alone. She's only goan to get her heart broken. What do you think will happen when we've gotten this treasure and have te return home? Hm? Ye'll go back te Montressor, and she'll come back te the Spyglass wit me. Ye _can't_ think it'll end well."

Glaring up at Silve now, Jim stalked away from him. "Maybe I do, Silver. I _can_, and I do." As he was walking away, Alyss reappeared from the loading bay and saw the two men angrily parting ways.

"What happened?" Alyss asked Jim quietly.

"Just a difference of opinion." Jim shrugged, trying to control his expression and temper. "I'll see you tomorrow, Alyss." He leaned over to her and kissed her lightly on the lips, to which she smiled but glanced nervously at her father.

When Jim had disappeared, she went over to her father. "So, what were you talking about?" she asked innocently.

"Not much, just a minor detail from the last expedition," Silver lied smoothly. He walked away, leaving his oldest child wondering if he had even wanted to hear the report on the long boats.


	9. Advertisement

Hey everybody! I know that there are a lot of fans of my writing out there… If you want a complete work done by yours truly, check out _**Iceworld**_** by Katherine Phillips** on ! It's my first published book, and I've never heard one bad thing about it from the people I let read it. Hope you enjoy!- KatPhish


	10. Chapter 9

**Hmmm…. I'm out of witty things to say for now. Humph. I'm stumped. Well, enjoy it while you can. I'm a little sick of the romance scenes for now… What say we make a treasure discovery today? Not **_**the**_** treasure discovery, but a treasure discovery definitely... I do not, have not, and sadly will not ever own this title- KatPhish**

_The Legacy_ and Silver's pirate ship were weighing anchor at some abandoned planet. It was marked on the map, so it had some kind of significance. Jim was set the task of preparing long boats. The captains, Delbert, the first mates, B.E.N., Alyss, and he were to be going ashore to look for clues to the treasure.

"All the map says is to 'Be wary for the glint of gold, though treasure be not in your hold,'" Alyss complained, waving her arms in the air, frustrated.

"You could be helping me with this," Jim commented, looking at her humorously over his shoulder. Alyss stuck her tongue out, but came to help. Once they had enough longboats supplied and armed with the docking gates open, they straightened back up and started for the deck.

"Jim, aren't you ever going to tell me why you and Dad are fighting?" she asked seriously.

Jim shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Come on, we need to let the captains know that we're ready, or we'll never get to figure out what the map's being so mysterious about."

Alyss frowned but followed him anyway, parting only to notify Silver. Once everybody was in the small boats, they took off.

An hour later they landed on the planet. It was grassy, but tall, slimy plant life grew higher than any of them stood. B.E.N. whimpered. "Why do we always have to go to the creepy, abandoned planets for treasure? Huh? Anyone?" Nobody answered him, though a few responded with exasperated looks over their shoulders. "Oh… I've got a bad feeling about this…" he reluctantly followed the train of people, half-covering his electric blue eyes.

Everyone had their blaster pistols in hand at the ready. It wasn't as bad, thought Jim, as scouting for the Treasure Planet expedition because there weren't any vicious pirates trying to kill them. For once, the pirates were on the same side! The down side was that nobody had any idea of what _did_ live on the planet.

As if to partially answer the question on everybody's mind, a low growl sounded from the foliage surrounding them. Alyss shrunk almost imperceptibly closer to her father, but he smiled and put an arm around her shoulders. "Doan worry, the worse ting that'll come from those trees is nuthin' scarier than that old walkin' piece o' space junk behind us."

Alyss glanced over her shoulder at B.E.N. and suppressed a laugh as the robotic navigator yelped and jumped closer to Jim, wrapping his metal hands around the young man's arm. Jim tried to shake off the skittish robot but to no avail.

They continued to walk in the eerie silence until darkness fell. By then, the captains had no choice but to order that camp be set up. The first mates, Jim, and Alyss fell to the work, allowing Delbert and the captains to plan for the next day and to try and further decipher the map's clues. B.E.N. was too worked up to be of any help.

"Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim Jim," B.E.N. whimpered, tugging on Jim's sleeve.

Brushing the cold fingers out of the way, Jim shook his head. "What, B.E.N.?"

"I'm scared, Jimmy," the navigator whispered loudly, looking around them into the forest, his fear clearly written on his face.

"There's nothing to scared of. We're setting up camp, there's a fire, and we're armed. Anything out there doesn't stand a chance."

"Okay, whatever you say, Jimmy, but, the thing is, there's eyes watching us."

As B.E.N.'s words sank in, Jim straightened and examined the forest. Just as B.E.N. had said, there were pair of yellow and green eyes peering at them from the darkness. The light of the fire they had built in the clear reflected in those eyes. Alyss looked around as well, the fear rising in her chest. Moving over to the captain's gathering, she told Amelia and Silver.

Delbert looked up, got to his feet and walked around the clearing, examining each pair of eyes as he went. Everyone watched the doctor nervously, though both captains allowed him to continue his inspection.

"I do not believe that these enemies- er-_entities_, are going to cause us any trouble tonight, though I suggest a double guard be posted," he proclaimed at the end of his circle.

Amelia smiled and nodded at her husband. "Thank you, sweetheart. Now, about these directions." Turning back to the roll of parchment that the map was on, she shook her head. "They look as if they lead us around in circles, but it can't be. The coordinates of these circles become too small to be able to walk them…."

Hours passed before anyone fell asleep. Jim and Silver were assigned the first watch and they regarded each other warily at first. Neither knew what to say to the other. Silver was the first to speak.

"Jimbo, ye hav' te forgive me. It's been a long time since I knew the mot'er of my two children. I know that love ain't somet'in' ye control. I'm jest askin' ye te not push me girl into anyt'in'. She's young and ne'er known love afore, and neither have ye, I'll reckon." He gave Jim a pointed look, but the young man just sullenly looked into the forest.

"She begged me fer years, ye know, te get me te let her come along on a spacin' trip. She always wished te sail across the stars, getting' lost in the majesty that is the galaxy. Ye see, Jimbo, I'd hate fer either o' ye te get hurt…"

"Silver," Jim began in a warning tone.

"No, Jim Hawkins, ye'll listen te me…"

"Silver!" Jim yelled, raising his blaster pistol in the direction of the forest.

Silver turned his head and saw what Jim was looking at. Grabbing the young man by the collar of the back of his shirt, he pulled him out of the way as the beast lunged.

It was a large animal; standing on all four feet, it came up to Silver's shoulders, towering well above Jim's head. Green scales covered its back from the top of its head to the tip of its tail, but tawny fur peered out from its underside. A malicious, cat-like face curled its lips and snarled. A forked tongue pierced the air.

"OY! GET UP YE LAZY COGSWALLOPS! WE NEED TE MOVE!" Bellowed Silver, pushing Jim toward the tents. "Make sure everyone wakes up. We won't be leavin' behind anybody fer a snack fer this beast!"

Silver swiveled his cyborg hand around so that his pistol was out. He shot at the animal, hoping to deter it. However the creature didn't seem to want to abandon its new quarry. Instead, it tucked itself into a ball and exposed the scaly side of its body to the blast. The plasma glanced off and harmlessly vanished. As Jim was rousing the other members of the scouting party, Silver kept the beast busy. He didn't want to use the larger plasma cannon until there was no other option because it was slow.

Everybody was up within seconds, luckily. Gathering what little they could, The group ran. Amelia was leading the group, keeping a firm hand on her husband as she did so. Jim shoved B.E.N. along in front of him and looked behind him to see Alyss yanking on her father's arm. Silver stopped shooting at the creature and ran along in the back of the scouting party. The animal followed at a close pace. Amelia seemed to have an idea of where they were going, because soon they came upon a large mouthed cave.

Delbert's shout, "Of cour-aaaahhhh!" floated back to the rest of the group, but it was too late for any of them to turn back. B.E.N. and then Jim careened into the cave as well, following the first mates and closely followed by Silver and Alyss.

There was no sign of Captain Amelia or Delbert, and the first mates disappeared as well, right in front of Jim's eyes. B.E.N. let out a loud scream, turned to cling to Jim, and the two of them plunged down a hole in the cave's floor, sliding down a stone chute.

Alyss's high-pitched shriek filled the chute as she and then Silver followed the rest of the group down…. Down into the darkness of the unknown….

**OOOOhhhh….. cliff hanger. Sorry for the delay in this chapter. It hit me after I started writing it that I had no clue what I was doing, so I did some more plot work and am happy with what I came up with, hope you are too! If you would love to travel down and hit the review button as much as I would love you to, you definitely should right away!**


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